Shine Bright Like a Diamond: The 4 Best Neon Sneakers

When Life gives you Lemons...

Neon seems to be a recurring wave in the fashion industry. After going out of style in the mid 2010’s, high-fashion brands such as Louis Vuitton and Balenciaga have recently brought fluorescent-like elements into their designs. Especially Bottega Venetta’s recent rise to hype with a focus on bright green has elevated glowing colours into fashion again. Naturally, the sneaker market is adapting similarly, shining ever so bright in new designs. New Balance, adidas, Nike, the stars are bringing out their shine again. We highlight the four best neon sneakers available on the market today.  

1. Nike Dunk High x AMBUSH Flash Lime

Starting off with a sneaker that truly represents neon and bright lights. Inspired by the glowing streets and commute of Tokyo, the AMBUSH x Nike Dunk High is truly an artwork in the form of a sneaker. Reshaping the beloved silhouette into a futuristic design demonstrates the Dunk’s versatility and the design team’s creative potential.

Besides the striking neon element, the swoosh stands out with fierce contrast, protruding beyond the heel of the shoe, adding yet another space-age touch. If you really want to get the future-motorcycle feel that AMBUSH campaigned along with their shoes, the entire apparel collection is neon-focused, bright and shiny. Every piece is a piece, they’re super combinable, but if you’re just getting into the neon game, maybe the sneaker is enough for now.

2. Nike Air Jordan 1 

Volt Gold

Jordan Brand has jumped onto the neon train, choo-chooing through their 2022 line-ups with crazy bright versions of the beloved Jordan 1 silhouette. The Jordan 1 Volt still kept the neon-aspects fairly minimal, adding a Volt yellow colour scheme onto the ankle collar. This flashy leather rests atop a gorgeous black-toe design with a gold suede heel. A perfect starting shoe if neon is new to you, or if you have a matching piece of clothing to increase the voltage even more.

Light Fusion Red

The Light Fusion Red is a little more towards the flashy side. While the white leather base seems quite bland, it creates a canvas for Laser Orange and Fusion Red to brighten up the sneaker, and hopefully your day. It’s probably not the easiest sneaker to pair with an outfit (unless you wear black only or coincidentally have Laser Orange clothing – which is pretty improbable), but it’s surely an eye-catcher.

Visionaire

Given the success of brighter colourways, Jordan Brand is now set to release the highly anticipated Visionaire colourway. This one is neon at its peak. Bright, flashy, limey, fierce – it’s an absolute stunner. White and black elements shift to the background, with Volt yellow covering the majority of the upper, overshadowing the achromacy. Nobody is even noticing the swoosh anymore, eyes are focused on the brightness of the Volt leather.

You’re gonna have people looking at your sneaker all day, but the dancefloor is where you’ll be shining with this one. So make sure you double-up, since clubs don’t exactly leave your shoes deadstock…

3. adidas Ivy Park Ultra Boost

While the Ivy Park collaboration between Beyoncé and adidas never really went through the roof, a couple of pieces did seriously impact the sneaker game. It pushed the Forum 84 towards new heights, it gave ice a new meaning in the footwear industry, and it brought upon us some of the best UltraBoost colourways we have seen to date.

While the arguably most comfortable and one of the most sought-after silhouettes of all time has been dying down in hype in recent times, the Ivy Park versions are absolutely stunning. The Maroon was a fan-favourite at first, but the Pink and Electric Green are about to go through the roof. Covering the entire sneaker in neon tones elevates the shoe’s character to brighter levels, once again turning this shoe into a piece, not just a sneaker to quickly jog to the supermarket with.

Beyoncé was ahead of the neon game, and her vision is certain to pay off when the wave truly hits.

4. New Balance 2002R Yellow Line

We can’t leave New Balance out of the discussion. Their vision in all terms connected to footwear has turned the sneaker game upside down in the last year, pushing them towards unprecedented heights and finally giving actual competition to Nike and adidas. While their focus on vintage aesthetics and understated designs has brought them to where they currently are, they are by no means restricting themselves to neutral tones.

The 2002R Yellow Line sees the insanely hyped silhouette covered in a flashy lime yellow, with only subtle hints of grey, red, and turquoise adding some details. It’s one of the loudest NB’s out there, but definitely rockable. The silhouette itself is comfortable, durable, athletic, and crazily gorgeous. Twisted by lemony inspirations, this sneaker positions itself among the visionary bright sneakers that we’ll be sure to be overwhelmed with in 2022.

What do you think about the current shift towards brighter colours and neon designs? Is the Bottega Green overhyped? Should sneakers and fashion in general be minimalistic or flashy? Let us know in the comments below.

By Freddy Schwoerer of Drip Drops